Santa Claus will bring holiday lights to an often-dark corner of the neighborhood at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 1, when Santa and Beacon Hill neighbors light the community tree at the corner of 15th Avenue S. and Beacon Avenue South.

The tree lighting isn’t the only festive activity — the event will also include caroling, dancing, and holiday treats, including specials at local businesses.

During the event, donations to the Red Cross for Typhoon Haiyan relief will be accepted at Inay’s.

Children and their parents or caregivers are invited to the Beacon Hill Library on October 27 to learn about and celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with a free milk carton crafts workshop. Kids aged 7 and up will learn how to create an altar, shrine or shadow box with milk cartons.

The event is from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 27 at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Ave. S. There is no fee, and everyone is welcome.

We wish you the merriest of Christmases from the Beacon Hill Blog! We’ve had a bit of an unplanned break here at the BHB for the last few days. But fear not — the blog is still here, and more posts are coming.

Please stay warm and cozy today — there is a slight possibility of snow, though it’s likely to be too warm. Seattle snow forecasts are often flaky (see what I did there?), because it’s difficult to predict snow in our climate, but even without the white stuff, it will be chilly.

Happy Thanksgiving (a day early) and thank you for reading the Beacon Hill Blog! I am thankful for our many wonderful readers.

As has become traditional here at the BHB, here is a recipe for a Thanksgiving treat: my grandma’s pumpkin pie recipe. I’ve used this recipe many times and it is very good. If you forgot to get evaporated milk, this recipe will save the day for you—–it doesn’t use it, and you won’t miss it.

then add:
1 c. scalded milk (skim milk works fine if you wish to use it, and so does soy milk)

Mix all together. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes, turn the heat down to 350, bake 45 minutes. It’s done when you can stick a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

Makes 1 pie. For two pies, use a large can of pumpkin and double everything else exactly.

Enjoy!

As always, I hope some of you will try this with a Seattle tradition: Emmett Watson’s famous Thompson Turkey, the recipe for which he used to publish every Thanksgiving in his Seattle Post-Intelligencer column (and later, in the Seattle Times). After reading it every Thanksgiving for years, I can never forget the final lines: “You do not have to be a carver to eat this turkey. Speak harshly to it and it will fall apart.”

(If you do try the Thompson Turkey, by all means let me know how it is!)

Happy Independence Day! These fireworks were viewed from Beacon Hill on July 4, 2007. If you take photos of July 4 fireworks or festivities, we’d love to see them! You can post them to the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.